Chin-operated diving apparatus



Oct. 11, 1949. METZGER I 2,484,044

CHIN-OPERATED DIVING APPARATUS Filed April 2, 1947 INVENTOR. ROBERT M. METZGER ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, l

The invention concerns diving equipment, and more specifically it concerns control means for governing air supply to inflated diving dress or to diving bells.

An object of this invention is to provide means under the immediate control of a diver for maintaining within his diving dress a sufficient pressure of air to prevent the occurrence of divers squeeze or the forcing by hydraulic pressure of the divers blood and body tissues into the helmet of his diving dress.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for augmenting the supply of air to a divers dress under conditions that make it impracticable to manipulate a hand-operated valve.

Further objects and advantages of this invention, as well as its construction, arrangement and operation, will be apparent from the following description and claim in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a rear view of a divers helmet including exterior fittings involved in supplying air thereto, and

Fig. 2 is a plan view or interior fittings in said helmet includin a valve adapted to be actuated by movement of the divers head.

A proposal has been made to supplement the customary hand-operated air inlet valve associated with divers dress by providing also a pressure-sensitive automatic valve so designed and applied as to maintain within the dress a degree of air pressure that is never allowed to be dangerously less than the exterior hydraulic pressure. The value of so doing lies in the desirability of avoiding conditions that result in divers squeeze, a hazard present in diving where sudden increase in depth of submergence and consequent increase in externally applied hydraulic pressure tend to force the divers body into his rigid helmet because the air pressure existing therein is not sufiicient to resist such external pressure.

It is here suggested that the vital supply of air to a diver should not be entrusted to any allegedly automatic apparatus, on the ground that maladjustment or erratic behavior of the automatic mechanism because of the temperature or corrosive action of sea water or the presence of dirt or debris therein may cause either failure to oper- 2 ate at all or over-supply of air and consequent bursting of the divers dress.

For these and other reasons, the present invention contemplates the provision of a valve, within the divers helmet, adapted to be operated by contact with the divers chin, a slight motion thereof suificing to introduce additional air under pressure. In the drawing, I0 is a divers helmet, I2 is a tube for supplying high-pressure air, I4 is a fitting for diverting air to chin-operated valve l6, I8 is the regular hand-operated valve, and 20, 22, and 24, are tubing and fittings for conducting air into th helmet.

In operation, the diver actuates lever I! of valve IS with his chin upon realizing the need for any reason to receive additional air, such as would be the case should he fall to a greater depth, or require fresh air to remove a temporary concentration of carbon dioxide resulting from his exertion, or in the event it is inconvenient or impossible to manipulate his hand-operated valve.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in this invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in the appended claim.

The invention described herein may b manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim:

Diving apparatus comprising equipment to enclose at least part of a diver, a conduit to conduct air into said equipment, manually operable valve means in said conduit and means for bypassing said first valve mean and comprising a valve positioned and adapted to be operated by the chin of the diver.

ROBERT M. ME'IZGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 439,093. Barian Oct. 28, 1890 2,388,674 Browne Nov. 13, 1945 

